Tropical Storm Alberto (2006)
Tropical Storm Alberto was the first storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, forming on June 10th off the coast of Belize. Alberto became a tropical storm, the first of 2006, on June 11th. Alberto moved northwestward in the beginning of its lifetime, battling upper-level wind shear and dry air on its western side as it did so. After a northwestward motion, Alberto attained a more northerly motion for a bit, then it turned to the northeast and strengthed into a 70 mph tropical storm on the morning of June 12. After peaking in strength, Alberto weakened to a 50 mph tropical storm and made landfall in northwestern Florida near the Big Bend area. After landfall, Alberto headed up the East Coast of the United States, retaining tropical storm status until early on June 14th, where it weakened to a tropical depression as it was passing over eastern Georgia and southern South Carolina. Alberto moved in a northeasterly motion and off into the Atlantic coast, becoming an extratropical storm before it did so. After moving off the Atlantic coast, Alberto headed northeast and out to sea, where it was absorbed by an oceanic storm approaching Great Britain on June 21. Alberto caused $565,000 in damage, as well as two indirect deaths. Alberto also caused heavy rainfall in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia, which caused some moderate flooding in some areas. Alberto near peak intensity https://archive.is/20131014012240/img235.imageshack.us/img235/6518/albertoea5.png Formation June 10, 2006 Dissipation June 14, 2006 Highest winds 70 mph Lowest pressure 995 mbar Deaths 0 direct, 3 indirect, 4 missing Damages $420,000 (2006 USD) Areas affected Florida, Southeastern United States, Atlantic Canada Meteorological history https://archive.is/20131014012221/img241.imageshack.us/img241/1616/tropicalstormalbertotrazb2.png In the beginning of the month of June, which marks the offical start of hurricane season each year, a broad area of low-pressure persisted along a surface trough. This low-pressure area moved slowly through the western Carribean Sea, with numerous tropical waves being sent through the area of low-pressure. On May 30, a tropical wave moved off the coast of Africa and moved through the low-pressure area on June 8. On June 8, the broad area of low-pressure started to organize, and by June 10th, the low-pressure area was organized sufficiently enough to be classified as Tropical Depression One, while located off the coast of Belize. On the morning of June 11, the system gained enough convection to be designated Tropical Storm Alberto. Early forecasts from the National Hurricane Center predicted Alberto wouldn't strengthen very much, thanks to the influence of moderate upper-level wind shear and dry air to its west. Alberto headed northwest, then north, then finally northeast, defying all predictions of not strengthening into anything strong, as it intensified into a 70 mph tropical storm on the morning of June 12 while located over the warm waters of the Loop Current. After reaching its peak of 70 mph, Alberto continued heading northeast, making landfall in the Big Bend area of northwestern Florida on June 13 at around 12:30 PM EDT with 50 mph winds (it weakened thanks to the cooler waters closer to the coast, and exiting the Loop Current also played a part in the weakening, as well as upper-level wind shear). After making landfall, Alberto continued moving northeast up the East Coast of the United States, retaining tropical storm strength until it was moving over eastern Georgia and southern South Carolina. After weaking to a tropical depression, Alberto headed northeast up the coast and exited into the Atlantic, becoming an extratropical storm before it did so. After exiting into the Atlantic, the remnant area of low-pressure that was once Alberto began to reintensify, and it managed to strengthen as a mid-latitude cyclone located to the east of an upper-level trough. The mid-latitude cyclone regained tropical storm strength as a mid-latitude cyclone, retaining gusts of up to hurricane force, as well as a minimum central pressure of 970 mb on the afternoon of June 15. After reintensifying, Alberto crossed into the northern Atlantic ocean and made landfall in Great Britain on June 19. After that, Alberto moved into the North Sea. Finally, after moving into the North Sea, Alberto was absorbed by an ocean storm that was approaching Great Britain on June 23. Preparations 'Cuba' In Cuba, over 27,000 residents were evacuated due to the threat of flooding from Alberto (in the western part of Cuba). Despite the National Hurricane Center making recommendations for the Cuban government to issue Tropical Storm Warnings for the Isle of Youth and Pinar del Rio on June, the Cuban government did not heed NHC's recommendation to them. 'Florida' In the northwestern part of Florida, 21,000 residents were under a mandatory evacuation order in the counties of Citrus County, Levy County, and Taylor County. Schools in the state were closed and used as emergency shelters for residents, and Florida state governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency for Florida. Impact 'Grand Cayman' In Grand Cayman, rainfall of 22.72+ inches of rain fell, which is a tremendous amount of rainfall for a mere tropical storm. 'Cuba' In Cuba, heavy rains from Alberto caused 17.52 inches of rain in Rio Seco, Cuba, and torrential, flooding rains elsewhere throughout western Cuba as well. Alberto damaged 37 homes in Havana and destroyed 3 homes in Havana. 'Yucatan Peninsula' In the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, Alberto dumped up to 4 inches of rain on the city of Peto, Yucatan in a 24 hour period. Alberto also dumped light rains across Quintana Roo, as well as eastern Campeche. Overall, damage was light in the Yucatan. 'Florida' In Florida, Alberto caused scattered power outages across the northwestern portion of the state, as well as some minor coastal flooding, and even that wasn't very notable. Alberto caused some tropical storm force winds in portions of the state, though damage was relatively minor in Florida, despite the minor coastal flooding and the tropical storm force winds. It is possible that bad weather conditions, possibly caused by Alberto, caused a plane to crash directly south of the downtown area of Tampa in the Davis Islands neighborhood. When the small plane crashed into the Peter O. Knight airport, located on the southern tip of Davis Islands, the pilot is said to have died. Finally, nine people were reported missing from Alberto, but this was later found to be a hoax. https://archive.is/20131014012248/img88.imageshack.us/img88/7180/albertoradarimagepy1.jpg Alberto at landfall 'Georgia' In Georgia, Alberto dumped up to 7.05 inches of rain in the city of Rincon. 'South Carolina' In South Carolina, Alberto dumped 4.13 inches of rain in Bluffton, SC. 'North Carolina' In North Carolina, the city of Raleigh picked up 7.16 inches of rain thanks to Alberto. 'Virginia' In Virginia, the city of Norfolk picked up 3.22 inches of rain from Alberto. These are merely notable impacts; this is not all Alberto managed to do, and it is very possible torrential, flooding rains were found in a much wider area than the area that's listed here. See Also 2006 Atlantic hurricane season Lack of Retirement Due to the lack of any major effects from Alberto, the name was not retired in the Spring of 2007 by the World Meteorological Organization, thus it is on the list for names to be used in the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Alberto_%282006%29